Education Research Scholarship

The Education Research Scholarship is intended to support a member who is a graduate student in a mentored project, or a postdoctoral fellow or junior faculty member (rank no higher than assistant professor) who wishes to develop a project that shows promise as a model for improving the quality of teaching and learning in anatomical education. It is anticipated that the proposed project will help foster a learning environment for students that is characterized by creativity, originality, and rigor. The scholarship consists of $5,000, plus travel support and registration fee to the next appropriate AAA Annual Meeting. The scholarship is supported by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Applicants must be members for the year in which they apply and through the completion of their scholarship project and presentation at the AAA Annual Meeting

TYPES OF PROJECTS

An annual Education Research Scholarship will be awarded in curricular innovation in the anatomical disciplines.

PURPOSE

The Education Research Scholarship competition is intended to support innovative projects that hold promise as models for the resolution of important issues and problems in anatomical education and represent new and creative approaches to teaching and learning.

The scholarship may be in support of any anatomical discipline or program.

The scholarship is intended to support practical initiatives and assist in evaluation of the results to determine effective outcomes.

It is intended to encourage projects that show innovation and creativity in design. The Scholarship will be awarded to individuals who submit proposals that offer new ideas, practices, and approaches. The project needs to be well justified, carefully designed, responsibly managed, and include an assessment strategy that can effectively evaluate the success of the project.

It is expected that the successful candidate will disseminate proven innovations developed during the tenure of the Education Research Scholarship to others through publication in appropriate journals and/or national or international medical education presentations.

Priority will be given to applications that demonstrate innovation in design and measurement of outcomes. While a well-planned evaluation component with measurable outcomes is acceptable, successful applicants will also include a description of the ongoing/formative assessments that will guide the development of the project. Two priorities are listed below, although proposals that focus on any area of anatomical education are encouraged:

1. Curriculum Development. Faculty who receive support for a project in the area of curriculum development in education will be expected to include assessment of student performance and evaluation of program effectiveness in the proposal. Examples might include:

Use of electronic media to enhance human dissection experiences in the anatomy laboratory.

Integration of histopathology and histology in a modular systems-based curriculum.

2. Student Assessment. The assessment of students at multiple levels of learning is an area of emphasis. Examples of assessment projects include:

Projects related to clinical-based exercises in the anatomical disciplines that encourage the development and measurement of clinical reasoning.

Development and implementation of performance-based assessment that evaluates integration of anatomical knowledge, clinical skills, and communication skills.

Evaluation of innovative approaches to the human anatomy laboratory experience.

Development of high quality, reliable assessments of anatomical knowledge.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

Proposal Sections 1-7 are limited to 6 pages (single-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins) and must include a description of each of the following elements under its own heading:

1. Abstract of the Project: (150-200 words)

2. Specific Aims: List the objectives of the project in the form of testable hypotheses. (Up to ½ page)

3. Statement of Significance: Why is this an important project? How will anatomical education be enhanced by it? Include relevant background and history, and specific references to the most relevant literature and scholarly publications. Include statements of how a defined target population of students or program will benefit from the proposed project and how the project might have regional or national impact. (½ to 1 page)

4. Methodology: Describe the methods that will be employed to implement the project and how the project will be conducted. Explain how the methods will allow you to achieve the objectives of the project. Formative assessments are ongoing assessments that reveal the ways that a project is succeeding or not. Describe the formative assessments that will guide the development of your project. (Up to 3 pages).

a. Instruments to be used: Appendix (Up to 2 pages, not included in the 6-page limit): These may include sample exam questions, surveys, observation report forms, etc. that would be used for formative or summative assessments (item 5). Reviewers will pay special attention to the quality of the appendix material when evaluating the proposal.

6. Integration: Describe what would be required to incorporate the new material or curriculum component generated through this proposal into the appropriate curriculum on a permanent basis. How likely is it that the innovations will be integrated into the regular curriculum if the outcome is positive? (Up to ½ page)

7. Feasibility of the project: Can this project be implemented with available resources? Describe the facilities and/or institutional support that will be available for your project. (Up to ½ page)

8. References Cited: (Up to 1 page)

9. Principal Investigator: Provide a description of the role of the applicant in the project, her/his expertise in anatomical education, and an NIH style biosketch (Up to 2 pages).

In addition, the proposal must include:

A letter of support from the Chairperson or Division Chief signed by the Dean or appropriate fiscal officer.

Evidence of an application to your institution’s IRB. Final award will be withheld until favorable IRB action is taken.

REVIEW OF PROPOSALS

Proposals will be peer-reviewed by a committee appointed by the Board of the American Association of Anatomists. Recommendations will be forwarded to the Board. Only complete proposals will be considered. Each complete proposal will be rated on each of the following criteria:
• Scholarship: evidence that the literature has been adequately researched to establish the novelty of the project and that the methodology is appropriate.
• Benefits/Impact of Project on anatomical education locally, regionally, and nationally.
• Methodology: clear, feasible methods consistent with goals/objectives.
• Evaluation: appropriateness and thoroughness of the formative and summative assessments.

REPORTING OBLIGATIONS

By accepting the scholarship, the recipient agrees to submit to the American Association of Anatomists a final written report no later than three months after the completion of the project or 15 months following receipt of the scholarship, unless an extension is requested from and approved by the Executive Committee.

The final report should include the following, preferably in the format of an NIH final progress report:

An abstract of the project

Project goals and objectives

Outcomes of the project

Implications of the outcomes for medical/biomedical science education

Method of integrating the material into the curriculum (if demonstrated to have a positive outcome)

In addition, the recipient is required to make a poster or oral presentation at the next appropriate Annual Meeting of the American Association of Anatomists (Experimental Biology). AAA will cover travel expenses and registration fee for this meeting.